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THE ARABIAN ART 



TAMING AND TRAINING 



WILD AND VICIOUS HORSES. 



IBTS- I^. C3-. IS/LJ^SK.^-HLJ^TJLu. 



PUBLISHED BY HENRY G. COOK 

NEWARK, NEW JERSEY 
1858. 



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INTRODUCTION 



The first domestication of the horse, one of the greatest achievements of 
man in the animal kingdom, was not the work of a day, but like all other great 
accomplishments, was brought about by a gradual process of discoveries and 
experiments. He first subdued the more subordinate animals, on account of 
their being easily caught and tamed, and used for many years the mere drudges, 
the ox, the ass and the camel, instead of the fleet and elegant horse. This noble 
animal was the last brought into subjection, owing, perhaps, to man's limited 
knowledge of his nature, and his consequent inability to control him. This fact 
alone is sufficient evidence of his superiority over all other animals. 

Man, in all his inventions and discoveries, has almost invariably commenced 
with some simple principle, and gradually developed it from one degree of per- 
fection to another. The first hint that we have of the use of electricity, was 
Franklin's drawing it from the clouds with his kite. Now it is the instrument 
of conveying thought from mind to mind with a rapidity that surpasses time. 
The great propelling power that drives the wheel of the engine over our land, 
and ploughs the ocean with our steamers, was first discovered escaping from a 
tea-kettle. And so the powers of the horse, second only to the powers of steam, 
became known to man only as experiments and investigation revealed them. 

The horse, according to the best accounts we can gather, has been the con- 
stant servant of man for nearly four thousand years, ever rewarding him with 
his labor and adding to his comfort in proportion to his skill and manner of 
using him ; but being to tliose who govern him by brute force and know nothing 
of the beauty and delight to be gained from the cultivation of his finer nature, 
a fretful, vicious, and often dangerous servant ; whilst to the Arab, whose horse 
is the pride of his life, and who governs him by the law of kindness, we find 
him to be quite a diflferent animal. The manner in which he is treated from a 
foal, gives him an afiection and attachment for his master not known in any 
other country. The Arab and his children, the mare and her foal, inhabit the 
tent together ; and although the colt and mare's neck are often pillows for the 
children to roil upon, no accident ever occurs, the mare being as careful of the 
children as of the colt. Such is the mutual attachment between the horse and 
hi^ master, that he will leave his companions at his master's call, ever glad to 
obey his voice. And wlien tlic Arab falls from his horse and is unable to rise 
again, he will stand by him .and neigh for assistance ; and if he lays down to 
sleep, as fatigue sometimes compels him to do in the midst of the desert, his 
faithful steed will watch over liim, and neigh to arouse him if man or beast 
approaches. The Arabs frequently teacli their horses secret signs or signals, 
which they make use of on urgent occasions to call forth their utmost exertions. 
These are more efficient than the barbarous mode of urging them on with spur 
and whip, a forcible illustration of which will be foimd in the following anec- 
dote : — 

A Bedouin, named Jabal, possessed a mare of great celebrity. Hassad 
Pacha, then Governor of Damascus, wished to buy the animal, and repeatedly 



Ill 

made the owner the most liberal offers, which Jabal steadily refused. The 
Pacha then had recourse to threats, but with no better success. At length, one 
Gafar, a Bedouin of another tribe, presented himself to the Pacha, and asked 
what he would give the man who would make him master of Jabal's mare. '' I 
will fill his horse's nose-bag with gold," replied Hassad. The result of this in- 
terview having gone abroad, Jabal became more watchful than ever, and always 
secured his mare at night with an iron chain, one end of which was fastened to 
her hind fetlock, whilst the other, after passing through the tent cloth, was at- 
tached to a picket driven in the groimd, under tlie felt that served himself and 
wife for a bed. But one midnight Gafar crept silently into the tent and suc- 
ceeded in locsehing the chain. Just before starting otf with his prize, he caught 
up Jabal's lance, and poking him with the butt end, cried out, " I am Gafar ! I 
have stolen your noble mare, and will give you notice in time." This warning 
was in accordance with the customs of the Desert ; for to rob a hostile tribe is 
considered an honorable exploit, and the man who accomplishes it is desirous of 
all the glory that may flow from the deed. Poor Jabal, when he heard the 
words, rushed out of the tent and gave the alarm, then mounting his brother's 
mare, accompanied by some of the tribe, he pursued the robber for four hours. 
The brother's mare was of the same stock as Jabal's, but not equal to her ; nev- 
ertheless, he outstripped those of all the other pursuers, and was even on the 
point of overtaking the robber, when Jabal shouted to him, " Pinch her right 
ear, and give her a touch of the heel." Gafar did so, and away went the mare 
like lightning, speedily rendering further pursuit hopeless. Thepinch in the ear 
and the touch oj' the heel were the secret signs by which Jabal had been used to 
urge his mare to her utmost speed. Jabal's companions were amazed and in- 
dignant at his strange conduct. " 0, thou father of a jackass !" they cried, " thou 
hast helped the thief to rob thee of thy jewel." But he silenced their upbraid- 
ings by saying, " I would rather lose her than sully her reputation. Would 
you have me suffer it to be said among the tribes that another mare had proved 
fleeter than mine ? I have at least this comfort left me, that I can say she never 
met with her match." 

Diflerent countries have their diflerent modes of horsemansliip, but amongst 
all of them its first practice was carried on in but a rude and indifferent way, 
being hardly a stepping-stone to the comfort and delight gained from the use of 
the horse at the present day. The polished Greeks, as well as the ruder nations 
of Northern Africa, for a long while rode without either saddle or bridle, guiding 
their horses with the voice or the hand, or with a light switch with which 
they touched the animal on the side of the face to make him turn in the opposite 
direction. They urged him forward by a touch of the heel, and stopped him by 
catching him by the muzzle. Bridles and bits were at length iirtroduced, but 
many centuries elapsed before anything that could be called a saddle, was used. 
Instead of these, cloths, single or padded, and skins of wild beasts, often richly 
adorned, were placed beneath the rider, but always without stirrups ; and it is 
given as an extraordinary fact, that the Romans, even in the times when luxury 
was carried to excess amongst them, never devised so simple an expedient for 
assisting the horseman to mount, to lessen his fatigue and aid him in sitting 
more securely in his saddle. Ancient sculptors prove that the horsemen of almost 
every country were accustomed to mount their horses from the right side of the 
animal, that they might the better grasp the mane, which hangs on that side, a 
practice universally changed in modern times. The ancients generally leaped 
on their horses' backs, though they sometimes carried a spear with a loop or 
projection about two feet from the bottom, which served them as a step. In 
Greece and Rome the local magistracy were bound to see that blocks for mount- 
ing, (what the Scotch call loupin-on stones,) were placed along the road at con- 
venient distances. The great, however, thought it more dignified to mount their 
horses by stepping on the bent backs of their servants or slaves ; and many who 
could not command such costly, help, used to carry a light ladder about with 
them. The first distinct notice that we have of the use of the saddle, occurs in 
the edict of the Emperor Theodosius, (A. D. 385,) from which we also learn that 
it was usual for those who hired post-horses to provide their own saddles, and 
that the saddle should not weigh more than sixty pounds, a cumbrous contri- 
vance, more like the howdahs placed on the backs of elephants, than the light and 



IV 

elegant saddle of modern times. Side-saddles for ladies are an invention of 
comparatively recent date. The first seen in England, was made for Anne, of 
Bohemia, wife of Richard the II., and was probably more like a pillion than the 
side-saddle of the present day. A pillion is a sort of a very low backed arm 
chair, and was fastened on the horse's croup, behind the saddle, on which a man 
rode who had all the care of managing the horse, while the lady sat at her ease, 
supporting herself by grasping a belt which he wore, or passing her arm around 
his body, if the s^cntleman ivas not too ticklish. But the Mexicans manage these 
things more gallantly than the ancients did. The *' pisanna," or country lady, 
we are told, is often seen mounted before her " cavalera," who takes the more 
natural position of being seated behind his fair one, supporting her by throwing 
his arm around her waist, (a veiy appropriate support if the bent position of 
the arm does not cause an occasional contraction of the muscles.) These two 
positions may justly be considered as the first steps taken by the ladies towards 
their improved and elegant mode of riding at the present day. 

At an early period, when the diversion of hawking was prevalent, they 
dressed themselves in the costume of the knight, and rode astride. Horses were 
in general use for many centuries before anything like a protection for the hoof 
was thought of, and it was introduced, at first, as a matter of course, on a very 
simple scale. The first foot defense, it is said, which was given to the horse, 
was on the same principle as that worn by man, which was a sort of a sandal, 
made of leather, and tied to the horse's foot by means of straps or strings- And 
finally plates of metal were fastened to the horse's feet by the same simple 
means. 

Here again, as in the case of the stirrupless saddle, when we reflect that 
men should, for nearly a thousand years, have gone on fastening plates of metal 
under horses' hoofs by the clumsy means of straps and strings, without its ever 
occurring to them to try so simple an improvement as nails, we have another 
remarkable demonstration of the slow steps by which horsemanship has reached 
its present state. 

In the foregoing remarks, I have taken the liberty of extracting several 
facts from a valuable little work by RoUa Springfield. With this short comment 
on the rise and progress of horsemanship, from its commencement up to the 
present time, I will proceed to give you the principles of a new theory of taming 
wild horses, which is the result of many experiments and a thorough investiga- 
tion and trial of the diflerent methods of horsemanship now in use. 



HOW TO BREAK A HORSE THAT PULLS ON THE HALTER. 

Put the halter strap over a strong pole and bring it between his fore legs, 
and fasten the end of it to the paster joint of the hind foot and let him pull till 
he is willing to stand. 



THE THIIEE 

FUNDAMENTAL PKINCIPLES OF MY THEORY, 

FOUNDED 

ON THE LEADING CHARACTERISTICS OP THE HORSE. 



First. — That Le is so constituted by nature that he will not 
oflfer resistance to any demand made of him which he fully com- 
prehends, if made in a way consistent with the laws of his nature. 

Second. — That he has no consciousness of his strength beyond 
his experience, and can be handled according to our will, without 
force. 

Third. — That we can, in compliance with the laws of his na- 
ture by which he examines all things new to him, take any object, 
however frightful, around, over or on him, that does not inflict 
pain, without cavising him to fear. 

To take these assertions in order, I will^r*^ give you some of 
the reasons why I think he is naturally obedient, and will not offer 
resistance to any thing fully comprehended. The horse, though 
possessed of some faculties superior to man's, being deficient of 
reasoning powers, has no knowledge of right or wrong, of free will 
and independent government, and knows not of any imposition 
practiced upon him, however unreasonable these impositions may 
be. Consequently, he cannot come to any decision Avhat he should 
or should not do, because he has not the reasoning faculties of 
man to argue the justice of the thing demanded of him. If he had, 
taking into consideration his superior strength, he would be useless 
to man as a servant. Give him vi'md in proportion to his strength, 
and he will demand of us the green fields for an inheritance, where 
he will roam at leisure, denying the right of servitude at all. God 
has wisely formed his nature so that it caii be operated upon by 
the knowledge of man, according to the dictates of his will. And 
he might well be termed an unconscious, submissive servant. This 
truth we can see verified in every day's experience by the abuses 
practised upon him. Any one who chooses to be so cruel, can 
mount the noble steed and run him till he drops with fatigue, or, 
as is often the case with the more spirited, falls dead with the rider. 
If he had the power to reason, would he not vault and pitch his 
rider, rather than suffer him to rixn him to death ? Or would he 
condescend to carry at all the vain imposter, who, with but equal 
intellect, was trying to impose on his equal rights and his equally 
independent spirit % But happily for us, he has no consciousness 



6 

of imposition, no thought of disobedience, except by impulse, 
caused by the violation of the law of his nature ; consequently, 
when disobedient it is the fault of man. 

Then, we can but come to the conclusion that if a horse is not 
taken in a way at variance with the laws of his nature, he will do 
anything that he fully comprehends, without making any offer of 
resistance. 

Second. — The fact of the horse being unconscious of the amount 
of his strength, can be proven to the satisftiction of any one. For 
instance, such remarks as these are common, and perhaps familiar 
to your recollection. One person says to another, " If that Avild 
horse there was conscious of the amount of his strength, his owner 
would have no business with him in that vehicle ; such light reins 
and harness, too ; if he knew he could snap them asunder in a 
minute ahd be as free as the air we breathe ;" and " that horse 
yonder that is pawing and fretting to follow the company that is 
fast leaving him, if he knew his strength he would not remain long 
fastened to that hitching post so much against his will, by a strap 
that would no more resist his j)owerful weight and strength, than 
a cotton thread would bind a strong man." Yet these facts, made 
common by every day occurrence, are not thought of as anything 
wonderful. Like the ignorant man who looks at the different 
phases of the moon, you look at these things as he looks at her 
different changes, Avithout troubling your mind with the question, 
" Why are these things so ?" What would be the condition of 
the world if all our minds lay dormant 1 If men did not think, 
reason and act, our undisturbed, slumbering intellects would not 
excel the imbecility of the brute ; we would live in chaos, hardly 
aware of our existence. And yet, with all our activity of mind, 
we daily pass by unobserved that which would be wonderful if 
philosophized and reasoned upon, and with the same inconsistency 
wonder at that Avhich a little consideration, reason and philosophy 
would make but a simple affair. 

Third. — He would allow any object, however frightful in appear- 
ance, to come around, over, or on him, that does not inflict pain. 
We know from a natural course of reasoning, that there has never 
been an effect without a cause, and we infer from this there can be 
no action, either in animate or inanimate matter, Avithout there 
Hrst being some cause to produce it. And from this self-evident 
fact Ave know that there is some cause for every impulse or move- 
ment of either mind or matter, and that this Liav governs every 
action or movement of the animal kingdom. Then, according to 
this theory, there must be some cause before fear can exist ; and, 
if fear exists from the effect of imagination, and not from the 
inlliction of real pain, it can be removed by complying with those 
laAvs of nature by Avhich the horse examines an object, and deter- 
mines upon its innocence or harm. 

A log or stump by the road-side may be, in the imagination of 
the horse, some great beast about to pounce upon him ; but after 
you take him up to it and let him stand by it a little Avhile, and 
touch it AA'ith his nose, and go through his process of examination, 



he will not care anything about it. And the same principle and 
process will have the same effect with any other object, however 
frightful in appearance, in which there is no harm. Take a boy 
that has been frightened by a false face, or any other object, that he 
could not comprehend at once ; but let him take the face or object 
in his hands and examine it, and he will care nothing more about 
it. This is a demonstration of the same principle. 

With this introduction to the principles of my theory, I shall next 
attempt to teach you how to put it into practice, and whatever 
instructions may follow, you may rely on as having been proven 
practically by my own experiments. And knowing from experi- 
ence just what obstacles I have met with in handling bad horses, 
shall try to anticipate them for you, and assist yoii in surmounting 
them, by commencing with the first steps taken with the colt, and 
accompanying you through the whole task of breaking. * 



HOW TO SUCCEED IN GETTING COLTS FROM PASTURE. 

Go to the pasture and walk around the whole herd quietly, and 
at such a distance as not to cause them to scare and run. Then ap- 
proach them very slowly, and if they stick up their heads and seem 
to be frightened hold on until they become qu.iet, so as not to make 
them run before you are close enough to drive them in the direc- 
tion you want to go. And Avlien you begin to drive do not flourish 
your arms or halloo, but gently follow them off, leaving the direc- 
tion free for them that you wish them to take. Thus taking advan- 
tage of their ignorance, you will be able to get them in the pound 
as easily as the hunter drives the quail into his net. For, if they 
have always run into the pasture uncared for, (as many horses do 
in prairie countries and on large plantations,) there is no reason 
why they should not be as wild as the sportsman's birds, and require 
the same gentle treatment, if you want to get them without trouble ; 
for the horse in his natural state is as wild as any of the undo- 
mestic animals, though more easily tamed than most of them. 



HOW TO STAlBLE A COLT WITHOUT TROUBLE. 

The next step will be to get the horse into a stable or shed. This 
should be done as quietly as possible, so as not to excite any sus- 
picion in the horse of any danger befalling him. The best way to 
do this, is to lead a gentle horse into the stable first and hitch him, 
then quietly walk around the colt and let him go in of his own 
accord. It is almost impossible to get men who have never prac- 
ticed on this principle, to go slow and considerate enough about it. 
They do not know that in handling a wild horse, above all other 
things, is that good old adage true, that " haste makes waste ;" 
that is, waste of time, for the gain of trouble and perplexity. 

One wrong move may frighten your horse, and make him think 
it necessary to escape at all hazards for the safety of his life, and 
thus make two hours' work of a ten minutes' job ; and this Avould 



8 

be all your own fault, and entirely unnecessary ; for he will not 
run unless you run after him, and that would not he good policy, 
unless you knew that you could outrun him ; or you will have to 
let him stop of his own accord after all. But he will not try to 
break away, unless you attempt to force him into measures. If he 
does not see the way at once, and is a little fretful about going in, 
do not undertake to drive him, but give a little less room outside, 
by gently closing in around him. Do not raise your arms, but let 
them hang at your side ; for you might as well raise a club. The 
horse has never studied anatomy, and does not know but they will 
unhinge themselves and fly at him. If he attempts to tu.rn back, 
walk before him, but do not run ; and if he gets past you, encircle 
him again in the same quiet manner, and he will soon find that you 
are not gping to hurt him ; and you can soon walk so close around 
him that he will go into the stable for more room, and to get far- 
ther from you. As soon as he is in remove the quiet horse and 
shut the door. This will be his first notion of confinement — not 
knowing how to get in such a place, nor how to get out of it. That 
he may take it as quietly as possible, see that the shed is entirely 
free from dogs, chickens, or anything that would annoy him ; then 
give him a few ears of corn ; and let him remain alone fifteen or 
twenty minutes, until he has examined his apartment, and has 
become reconciled to his confinement. 



TIME TO REFLECT. 

And now while your horse is eating those feAV ears of corn, is 
the proper time to see that your halter is ready and all right, and 
to reflect on the best mode of operations ; for in horse-breaking, 
it is highly important that you should be governed by some system. 
And you should know before you attempt to do anything, just 
what you are going to do, and how you are going to do it. And, 
if you are experienced in the art of taming wild horses, you 
ought to be able to tell in a few minutes the length of time it 
would take you to halter the colt, and learn him to lead. 



TI-IE KIND OF HALTER. 

Always use a leather halter, and be sure to have it made so that 
it will not draw tight around his nose if he pulls on it. It should 
be of the right size to fit his head easily and nicely ; so that the 
nooseband will not be too fight or too low. Never put a rope hal- 
ter on an unbroken colt under any circumstances whatever. They 
have caused more horses to hurt or kill themselves, than would 
pay for twice the cost of all the leather halters that have ever been 
needed for the jjurpose of haltering colts. It is almost impossible 
to break a colt that is very wild with a rope halter, withoixt having 
him pull, rear and throw himself, and thus endanger his life ; and 
I will tell you why. It is just as natural for a horse to try to get 
his head out of anything that hurts it, or feels unpleasant as it 



would be for you to try to get your band out of afire. Tbe cords 
of tbe rope are hard and cutting ; this makes bim raise bis bead 
and draw on it, and as soon as be pulls, tbe slip noose (tbe way 
rope baiters are always made) tightens and pincbes bis nose, and 
then be will struggle for life, until percbance be throws himself; 
and who Avould have his horse throw himself, and run the risk of 
breaking his neck, rather than pay tbe price of a leather halter. 
But this is not tbe worst. A horse that has once pulled on bis halter 
can never be as well broke as one that has never pulled at all. 



REMAEKS ON THE HORSE. 

But before we attempt to do anything more with tbe colt, I will 
give you some of tbe characteristics of his nature, that you may 
better understand bis emotions. Every one that has ever paid 
any attention to tbe horse, has noticed bis natural inclination to 
smell everything which to bim looks new and frightful. This is 
their strange mode of examining everything. And, when they 
are frightened at anything, though they look at it sharply, they 
seem to have no confidence in this optical examination alone, but 
must touch it with tbe nose before they are entirely satisfied ; and, 
as soon as this is done, all is right. 



EXPERIMENTS WITH THE ROBE. 

If you want to satisfy yourself of this characteristic of tbe horse 
and learn something of the importance concerning tbe peculiarities 
of his nature, turn him into the barn-yard, or a large stable will 
do, and then gather up something that you know will frighten him ; 
a red blanket, bufi'alo robe, or something of that kind. Hold it ixp 
so that be can see it ; he will stick up his head and snort. Then 
throw it down somewhere in the center of the lot or barn, and 
walk ofi" to one side. Watch his motions, and study bis nature. 
If he is frightened at tbe object, be will not rest until be has 
touched it with bis nose. You will see him soon begin to walk 
around tbe robe and snort, all tbe time getting a little closer, as if 
drawn up by some magic spell, until be finally gets within tbe 
reach of it. He will then very cautiously stretch out bis neck as 
far as be can reach, merely touching it with his nose, as though bo 
thought it was ready to tly at bim. But after he has repeated 
these touches a few times, for tbe first (though he has been looking 
at it all the time) be seems to have an idea what it is. But now 
he has found, by tbe sense of feeling, that it is nothing that will 
do him any harm, and be is ready to play with it with bis teeth, 
aud raise it up, and pull at it. And in a few minutes you can see 
that be has not that same wild look about his eye, but stands like 
a horse biting at some familiar stump. 

Yet the horse is never so well satisfied when about anything 
that has frightened bim as when he is standing with bis nose to k. 
And, in nine cases out of ten, yon will see some of that same wild 



10 

look about him again, as he turns to walk from it. And you will 
probably see him look back very suspiciously as he walks away, as 
though he thought it might come after him yet. And, in all pro- 
bability, he will have to go back and make another examination, 
before he is satisfied. But he will familiarize himself with it, and 
if he should run in that lot a few days, the robe that frightened 
him so much at first, will be no more than some familiar stump. 



SUPPOSITION ON THE SENSE OF SMELLING. 

We might very naturally suppose, from the fact of the horse's 
applying his nose to everything new to him, that he always does 
so for the purpose of smelling these objects. But I believe that it is 
as much or more for the purpose of feeling ; and that he makes 
use of his nose or muzzle (as it is sometimes called), as we would 
of our hands ; because it is the only organ by which he can touch 
or feel anything with much susceptibility. 

I believe that he invariably makes use of the four senses, seeing, 
hearing, smelling and feeling, in all of his examinations, of which 
the sense of feeling is, perhaps, the most important. And I think 
that in the experiment with the robe — his gradual approach and 
final touch with the nose, was as much for the purpose of feeling 
as anything else, his sense of smell being so keen, that it would not 
be necessary for him to touch his nose against anything in order 
to get the proper scent ; for it is said that a horse can smell a man 
the distance of a mile. And, if the scent of the robe was all that 
was necessary, he could get it several rods off. But we know 
from experience, that if a horse sees and smells a robe a short dis- 
tance from him, he is very much frightened (unless he is used to it,) 
until he touches or feels it with his nose ; which is a positive pi-oof 
that feeling is the controlling sense in this case. 



PREVAILING OPINION OF HORSEMEN. 

It is a prevailing opinion among horsemen generally, that the sense 
of smell is the governing sense of the horse. And Faucher, as well 
as others, have with that view, got up receipts of strong smelling 
oils, etc., to tame the horse, sometimes using the chestnut of his 
leg, which they dry, grind into powder and blow into his nostrils. 
Sometimes using the oil of rhodium, organum, etc., that are noted 
for their strong smell. And sometimes they scent the hands with 
the sweat from under their arms, and blow their breath into his 
nostrils, etc., etc. All of which, as far as the scent goes, have no 
effect whatever in gentling the horse, or conveying any idea to his 
mind ; though the works that accompany these efforts, handling 
him, touching him about the nose and head, and patting him, as 
they direct you should, after administering the articles, may have 
a very great effect, which they mistake to be the effects of the in- 
gredients used. And Faucher, in his work entitled, " The Arabian 
art of taming Horses," page 17, tells us how to accustom a horse 



11 

to a robe, by administering certain articles to his nose ; and goes 
on to say, that these articles must first be applied to the horse's nose 
before you attempt to break him, in order to operate successfully. 

Now, reader, can you, or any one else give one single reason how 
scent can convey any idea to the horse's mind of what we want 
him to do ? If not, then, of course, strong scents of any kind are 
of no account in taming the unbroken horse. For everything that 
we get him to do of his own accord, without force, must be accom- 
plished by some means of conveying our ideas to his mind. I say 
to my horse " go 'long !" and he goes ; " ho !" and he stops ; be- 
cause these two words, of which he has learned the meaning by 
the tap of the whip and the pull of the rein that first accompanied 
them convey the two ideas to his mind of go and stop. 

Faucher, or no one else, can ever learn the horse a single thing 
by the means of a scent alone. 

How long do you suppose a horse would have to stand and smell 
of a bottle of oil, before he would learn to bend the knee, and make 
a bow at your bidding, " go yonder and bring your hat," or, 
" come here and lay down." Thus you see the absurdity of trying 
to break or tame the horse by the means of receipts for articles to 
smell of, or medicines to give him, of any kind whatever. 

The only science that has ever existed in the world, relative to 
the breaking of horses, that has been of any account, is that true 
method which takes them in their native state, and improves their 
intelligence. 



POWEL'S SYSTEM OF APPROACHING THE COLT. 

But before we go further, I will give you Willis J. Powel's system 
of approaching a wild colt, as given by him in a work published in 
Europe, about the year 1814, on the "Art of taming wild Horses." 
he says, "A horse is gentled by my secret, in from two to sixteen 
hours. The time I have most commonly employed has been from 
four to six hours." He goes on to say ; " Cause your horse to be 
put in a small yard, stable, or room. If in a stable or room, it 
ought to be large in order to give him some exercise with the halter 
before you lead him out. If the horse belongs to that class which 
appears only to fear man, you must introduce yourself gently into 
the stable, room, or yard, where the horse is. He will naturally 
run from you and frequently turn his head from you ; but you 
must walk about extremely slow and softly, so that he can see 
you whenever he turns his head toward you, which he never fails 
to do in a short time, say in a quarter or half an hour. I never 
knew one to be much longer without turning toward me. 

"At the very moment he turns his head, hold out your left hand 
toward him, and stand perfectly still, keeping your eyes upon the 
horse, watching his motions if he makes any. If the horse does 
not stir for ten or fifteen minutes, advance as slowly as possible, 
and without making the least noise, always holding out your left 
hand, without any other ingredient in it than that which nature 



12 

put in it." He says : "I have made use of certain ingredients 
before people, such as the sweat under my arms, etc., to disguise 
the real secret, and many believed that the docility to which the 
horse arrived in so short a time was owing to these ingredients ; 
but you see from this explanation, that they were of no use what- 
ever. The implicit faith placed in these ingredients, though inno- 
cent in themselves, become 'faith without works.' And thus men 
remained always in doubt concerning this secret. If the horse 
makes the least motion when you advance toward him, stop, and 
remain perfectly still until he is quiet. Eemain a few moments in 
this condition, and then advance again in the same slow and im- 
perceptible manner. Take notice ; if the horse stirs, stop without 
changing your position. It is very uncommon for the horse to stir 
more than once after you begin to advance, yet there are exceptions. 
He generally keeps his eyes steadfast on you until you get near 
enough to touch him on the forehead. When you are thus near 
him, raise slowly and by degrees your hand, and let it come in 
contact with that part just above the nostrils as lightly as possible. 
If the horse flinches (as many will) repeat with great rapidity these 
light strokes upon the forehead, going a little farther up towards 
his ears by degrees and descending with the same rapidity until 
he Avill let you handle his forehead all over. Now let the strokes 
be repeated with more force over all his forehead, descending by 
lighter strokes to each side of his head, until you can handle that 
part with eq^ual facility, then touch in the same light manner, 
making your hands and fingers play round the lower part of the 
horse's ears, coming down now and then to his forehead, which 
may be looked upon as the helm that governs all the rest. 

" Having succeeded in handling his ears advance toward the 
neck, with the same precautions and in the same manner; observing 
always to augment the force of the strokes whenever the horse 
will permit it. Perform the same on both sides of the neck, iintil 
he lets you take it in your arms without flinching. 

" Proceed in the same progressive manner to the sides, and then to 
the back of the horse. Every time the horse shows any nervousness 
return immediately to the forehead as the true standard, patting 
him with your hands, and from thence rapidly to where you had 
already arrived, always gaining ground a considerable distance 
further on every time this happens. The head, ears, neck and body 
being thus gentled, proceed from the back to the root of the tail. 

" This must be managed with dexterity, as a horse is never to be 
depended on that is skittish about the tail. Let your hand fall 
lightly and rapidly on that part next to the body a minute or two, 
and then you will begin to give it a slight pull upward every quarter 
of a minute. At the same time you continue this handling of him 
augment the force of the strokes, as Avell as the raising of the tail, 
until you can raise it and handle it with the greatest ease, which 
commonly happens in a quarter of an hour in most horses ; in 
others almost immediately, and in some much longer. It now 
remains to handle all his legs. From the tail come back again to 
the head, handle it well, as likewise the ears, breast, neck, etc., 



13 

speaking now and then to the horse. Begin by degrees to descend 
to the legs, always ascending and descending, gaining ground every 
time you descend until you get to his feet. 

" Talk to the horse in Latin, Greek, French, English or Spanish, 
or in any other language you please ; but let him hear the sound 
of your voice, which at the beginning of the operation is not quite 
so necessary, but which I have always done in making him lift up 
his feet. Hold up your feet — ' Live la pied' — 'Alza el pie' — 'Arou 
ton poda,' etc., at the same time lift his foot with your hand. He 
soon becomes familiar with the sounds, and will hold up his foot 
at command. Then proceed with the feet in the same manner, 
and in a short time the horse will let you lift them and even take 
them in your arms. 

"All this operation is no magnetism, no galvanism ; it is merely 
taking away the fear a horse generally has of a man, and familiar- 
izing the animal with his master ; as the horse doubtless experi- 
ences a certain pleasure from this handling, he will soon become 
gentle under it, and show a very marked attachment to his keeper." 



REMAEKS ON POWEL'S TREATMENT HOW TO 
GOVERN HORSES OF ANY KIND. 

These instructions are very good, but not quite sufficient for 
horses of all kinds, and for haltering and leading the colt, but I 
have inserted it here, because it gives some of the true philosophy of 
approaching the horse, and of establishing confidence between man 
and horse. He speaks of the kind that fear man. 

To those who understand the philosophy of horsemanship, these 
are the easiest trained ; for when we have a horse that is wild and 
lively, we can train him to our Avill in a very short time ; for they 
are generally quick to learn, and always ready to obey. But there 
is another kind, that are of a stubborn or vicious disposition, and, 
although they are not wild, and do not require taming, in the sense 
it is generally understood, they are just as ignorant as a wild horse, 
if not more so, and need to be learned just as much, and in order 
to have them obey quickly, it is very necessarj'- that they should 
be made to fear their masters ; for in order to obtain perfect obedi- 
ence from any horse, we must first have him fear us, for our motto 
is fear, love and ohcrj. And Ave must have the fulfilment of the 
first two before we can expect the latter, and it is by our philoso- 
phy of creating fear, love and confidence, that we govern to our 
will every kind of a horse whatever. 

Then, in order to take horses as we find them, or all kinds, and 
to train them to our likings, we will always take with us, when 
we go into a stable to train a colt, a long switch Avhip, (whalebone 
buggy whips are best,) with a good silk cracker, so as to cut keen 
and make a sharp report, which, if handled with dexterity, and 
rightly applied, accompanied Avith a sharp fierce word, will be 
sufficient to enliven the spirits of any horse. With this whip in 
your right hand, with the lash pointing backwards, enter the stable 



14 

alone. It is a great disadvautage in trainiug a horse, to have any 
one in the stable with ;jou ; you should be entirely alone, so as 
to have nothing but yourself to attract his attention. If he is 
wild, you see him in the opposite side of the stable from you. ; and 
now is the time to use a little judgment. I would not want for 
myself more than half or three quarters of an hour to handle any 
kind of a colt, and have hhn running about the stable after me, 
though I would advise a new beginner to take more time, and not 
be in too much of a hurry. If you have but one colt to gentle, 
and are not particular about the length of time spent, and have 
not had any experience in handling colts, I would advise you to 
take Mr. Powel's method at first, till you gentle him, which he 
says takes from two to six hours. But, as I want to accomplish 
the same, and, what is much more, learn the horse to lead, in less 
than an hour, I shall give you a much quicker method of accom- 
plishing the same end. Accordingly, when you have entered the 
stable, stand still and let your horse look at you a minute or two, 
and as soon as he has settled in one place, approach him slowly, 
with both arms stationary, your right hanging by your side, hold- 
ing the whip as directed, and the left bent at the elbow, with your 
hand projecting. As you approach him, go not too much towards 
his head, or croop, so as not to make him move either forward or 
backward, thus keeping your horse stationary ; if he does move a 
little forward or backward, step a little to the right or left, very 
cautiously ; this will keep him in one place. As you get very 
near him, draw a little to his shoulder and stop a few seconds. If 
you are in his reach, he will turn his head and smell your hand, 
not that he has any preference for your hand, but because it is 
projecting and is the nearest portion of your body to the horse. 
This all colts will do, and they will smell of your naked hand just 
as quick as they will of anything you can put in it, and with just 
as good an effect, however much some men have preached the 
doctrine of taming horses by giving them the scent of articles from 
the hand. I have already proved that to be a mistake. As soon 
as he touches his nose to your hand, caress him as before directed, 
always using a very light, soft hand, merely touching the horse, 
always rubbing the way the hair lays, so that your hand Avill pass 
along as smoothly as possible. As you stand by his side, you may 
find it more convenient to rub his neck, or the side of his head, 
which will answer the same purpose as rubbing his forehead. Favor 
every inclination of the horse to smell or touch you with his nose. 
Always follow each touch or communication of this kind with most 
tender and afi'ectionate caresses, accompanied with a kind look and 
pleasant words of some sort, such as " Ho ! my little boy, ho ! my 
little boy," " pretty boy," " nice lady," or something of that kind, 
constantly repeating the same words, with the same kind, steady 
tone of voice ; for the horse soon learns to read the expression of 
the face and voice, and will know as well when fear, love or anger 
prevails, as you know your own feelings ; two of which, year and 
anger, a good horseman should never feel. 



HOW TO PROCEED IF YOUR HORSE IS OF A 
STUBBORN DISPOSITION. 

If your horse, instead of being wild, seems to be of a stubborn 
or mulish disposition, if he lays back his ears as you ajjproach him, 
or turns his heels to kick you, he has not that regard or fear of man 
that he should have to enable you to handle him quickly and 
easily, and it might be well to give him a few sharp cuts with the 
whip, about the legs, pretty close to the body. It will crack keen 
as it plies around his legs, and the crack of the whip will affect 
him as much as the stroke ; besides, one sharp cut about the legs 
will affect him more than two or' three over the back, the skin on 
the inner part of his legs or about his flank being thinner and more 
tender than on his back. But do not whip him much, just enough 
to scare him ; it is not because we want to hurt the horse that we 
whip him, we only do it to scare the bad disposition out of him. 
But whatever you do, do quickly, sharply, and with a good deal 
of fire, but always without anger. If you are going to scare him 
at all you must do it at once. Never go into a pitch battle with 
your horse, and whip him until he is mad and will fight you. You 
had better not touch him at all, for you will establish, instead of 
• fear and regard, feelings of resentment, hatred and ill-will. It will 
do him no good, but an injury, to strike a blow unless you can 
scare him ; but if you succeed in scaring him, you can whip him 
without making him mad, for fear and anger never exist together 
in a horse, and as soon as one is visible you will find that the 
other has disappeared. As soon as you have frightened him so 
that he will stand up straight and pay some attention to you, 
approach him again, and caress him a good deal more than you 
have whipped him, then you will excite two controlling passions 
of his nature, love and fear, and then he will fear and love you 
too, and, as soon as he learns what to do, will quickly obey. 



HOW TO HALTER AND LEAD THE COLT. 

As soon as you have gentled the colt a little, take the halter in 
your left hand and approach him as before, and on the same side 
that you have gentled him. If he is very timid about your ap- 
proaching closely to him, you can get up to him quicker by making 
the whip a part of your arm, and reaching out very gently with 
the butt end of it, rubbing him lightly on the neck, all the time 
getting a little closer, shortening the whip by taking it up in your 
hand, until you finally get close enough to put your hands on him. 
If he is inclined to hold his head from you, put the end of the 
halter strap around his neck, drop your whip and draw very gently ; 
he will let his neck give, and you can pull his head to you. Then 
take hold of that part of the halter which buckles over the top of 
his head, and pass the long side, or that part which goes into the 
buckle, under his neck, grasping it on the opposite side with your 
right hand, letting the first strap loose — the latter will be sufficient 
to hold his head to you. Lower the halter a little, just enough to 



16 

get his uose into tliat part which goes arouud it, then raise it some- 
what and fasten the top buckle, and you will have it all right. 
The first time you halter a colt you should stand on the left side, 
pretty well back to his shoulder, only taking hold of that part of 
the halter that goes around his neck, then with your hands about 
his neck, you can hold his head to you and raise the halter on it 
without making him dodge by putting your hands about his nose. 
You should have a long rope or strap ready, and as soon as you 
have the halter on attach this to it, so that you can let him walk 
the length of the stable without letting go of the strap, or without 
making him pull on the halter, for if you only let him feel the 
weight of your hand on the halter, and give him rope when he 
runs from you, he will never rear, pull, or throw himself, yet you 
will be holding him all the time, and doing more towards gentling 
him than if you had the power to snub him right up and hold him 
to one spot ; because he does not know any thing about his 
strength, and if you do not do anything to make him pull he will 
never know that he can. In a few minutes you can begin to con- 
trol him with the halter, then shorten the distance between your- 
self and the horse, by taking up the strap in your ha*id. 

As soon as he v/ill allow you to hold him by a tolerably short 
strap and step up to him without flying back, you can begin to give 
him some idea about leading. But to do this, do not go before and 
attempt to pull him after you, but commence by pulling him very 
quickly to one side. He has nothing to brace either side of his 
neck, and will soon yield to a steady, gradual pull of the halter ; 
and as soon as you have pulled him a step or two to one side, step 
up to him and caress him, and then pull him again, repeating this 
operation until you can pull him around in every direction, and 
walk about the stable with him, which you can do in a few minutes, 
for he will soon think, when you have made him step to the right or 
left a few times, that he is compelled to follow the pull of the hal- 
ter, not knowing that he has the power to resist your pulling ; be- 
sides, you have handled him so gently that he is not afraid of you, 
and you always caress him when he comes up to you, and he likes 
that, and would just as leave follow you as not. And after he has 
had a few lessons of that kind, if you turn him out in a lot he will 
come up to you every opportunity he gets. You should lead him 
about in the stable some time before you take him out, leading him 
up to it and back again, and past it. See that there is nothing on 
the outside to make him jump when you take him out, and as you 
go out with him, try to make him go very slowly, catching hold of 
the halter close to the jaw with your left hand, Avhile the right is 
resting on the top of his neck, holding to his mane. After you are 
out with him a little Avhile, you can lead him about as you please. 
Don't let any second person come up to you when you first take 
him out ; a stranger taking hold of the halter would frighten him 
and make him run. There should not even be any one standing- 
near him to attract his attention or scare liim. If you are alone 
and manage him right, it will not require any more force to lead 
or hold him than it would to manage a broke horse. 



17 

HOW TO LEAD A OOLT BY THE SIDE OF A 
BROKEN HORSE. 

If you sliould want to lead your colt by the side of* another 
horse, as is often the case, I would advise you to take your horse 
into the stable, attach a second strap to the colt's halter, and lead 
your horse up along side of him. Then get on the broke horse 
and take one strap around his breast, under his martingale, (if he 
has any on,) holding it in your left hand. This will prevent the 
colt from getting back too far ; besides, you will have more power 
to hold him, with the strap pulling against the horse's breast. The 
other strap take up in your right hand, to prevent him from run- 
ning ahead, then turn him about a few times in the stable, and if 
the door is wide enough, ride out with him in that position ; if not, 
take the broke horse out first, and stand his breast up against the 
door, then lead the colt to the same spot, and take the straps as 
before directed, one on each side of his neck, then let some one 
start the colt out, and as he comes out turn your horse to the left, 
and you will have them all right. This is the best way to lead a colt ; 
you can man'age any kind of a colt in this way without any trouble ; 
for if he tries to run ahead or pull back, the two straps will bring 
the horses facing each other, so that you can easily follow up his 
movements without doing much holding, and as soon as he stops 
running backward you are right with him, and all ready to go ahead. 
And if he gets stubborn and does not want to go, you can remove 
all his stubbornness by riding your horse against his neck, thus 
compelling him to turn to the right, and as soon as you have turned 
him about a few times, he will be willing to go along. The next 
thing after you are through leading him, will be to take him into the 
stable, and hitch him in such a way as not to have him pull on the 
halter. As they are often troublesome to get into a stalble the first 
few times, I will give you some instructions about getting him in. 



HOW TO LEAD A COLT INTO THE STABLE AND HITCH 
HIM WITHOUT HAVING HIM PULL ON THE HALTER. 

Yon should lead the broke horse into the stable first, and get the 
colt, if you can, to follow in after him. If he refuses to go, step up 
to him, taking a little stick or switch in your right hand ; then take 
hold of the halter close to his head with your left hand, at the same 
time reaching over his back with your right arm, so that you can 
tap him on the opposite side with your switch ; bring him up facing 
the door, tap him lightly with your switch, reaching as far back 
with it as you can. This tapping, by being pretty well back, and 
on the opposite side, will drive him ahead and keep him close to 
you, then by giving him the right direction with your left hand, you 
can walk into the stable with him. I have walked colts into the 
stable in this way in less than a miuvite, after men had worked at 
them half an hour, trying to pull them in. If you cannot walk him 
in at once this way, turn him about and walk him round in every 
direction, until you can get him up to the door without pulling at 



18 

him. Then let him stand a few minutes, keeping his head in the 
right direction with the halter, and he will walk in in less than ten 
minutes. Never attempt to pull the colt into the stable ; that would 
makjj him think at once that it was a dangerous place, and if he 
was not afrai4 of it before, he would be then. Besides, we don't 
want him to know anything about pulling on the halter. Colts 
are often hurt, and sometimes killed, by trying to force them into 
the stable ; and those who attempt to do it in that Avay, go into 
an up-hill business, when a plain, smooth road is before them. 

If you want to hitch your colt, put him in a tolerably wide stall, 
which should not be too long, and should be connected by a bar, or 
something of that kind, to the partition behind it ; so that, after the 
colt is in, he cannot get far enough back to take a straight, back- 
ward pull on the halter, then by hitching him into the center of the 
stall would be impossible for him to pull on the halter, the parti- 
tion behind preventing him from going back, and the halter in the 
center checking him every time he turns to the left or right. In 
a state of this kind you can break every horse to stand hitched by 
a light strap, anywhere, without his ever knowing anything about 
pulling. But if you have broke your horse to lead, and have 
learned him the use of the halter (which you should always do 
before you hitch him to anything,) you. can hitch him in any kind 
of a stall, and give him something to eat to keep him up to his 
place for a few minutes at first, and there is not one colt in fifty 
that will pull on his halter. 



THE KIND OF BIT, AND HOW TO ACCUSTOM A 
HOUSE TO IT. 

You should use a large, smooth, snaffle bit, so as not to hurt his 
mouth, with a bar to each side, to prevent the bit from pulling 
through either way. This you should attach to the head-stall of 
your bridle, and put it on your colt Avithout any reins to it, and let 
him run loose in a large stable or shed, some time, until he becomes 
a little used to the bit, and will bear it without trying to get it out 
of his mouth. It would be well if convenient, to repeat this sev- 
eral times before you do anything more with the colt ; as soon as 
he will bear the bit, attach a single rein to it without any mar- 
tingale. You should also have a halter on your colt, or a bridle 
made after the fashion of a halter, with a straj) to it, so that you 
can hold or lead him about without pulling on the bit much. He 
is now ready for the saddle. 



HOW TO SADDLE A COLT. 

Any one man, who has this theory, can put a saddle on the 
wildest colt that ever grew, without any help, and without scaring 
him. The first thing will be to tie each stirrxip strap into a loose 
knot to make them short, and to prevent the stirrups from Hying 
about and hitting him. Then double up the skirts and take the 



19 

saddle under your right arm, so as not to frighten him with it as 
you approach. When you get to him, rub him gently a few times 
with your hand, and then raise the saddle very slowly until he 
can see it, and smell, and feel it with his nose. Then 1^ the 
skirts loose, and rub it very gently against his necjc the way the 
hair lays, letting him hear the rattle of the skirts as lae feels them 
against him ; each time getting a little further backward, and 
finally slip it over his shoulders on his back. Shake it a little 
with your hand, and in less than five minutes you can rattle it 
about over his back as much as you please, and pull it off and 
throw it on again, without his paying much attention to it. 

As soon as you have accustomed him to the saddle, fasten the 
girth. Be careful how you do this. It often frightens a colt when 
he feels the girth binding him, and making the saddle fit tight on 
his back, ^ou should bring up the girth very gently, and not 
draw it too tight at first, just enough to hold the saddle on. Move 
him a little, and then girt it up as tight as you choose, and he will 
not mind it. 

You should see that the pad of your saddle is all right before 
you put it on, and that there is nothing to make it hurt him, or 
feel unpleasant to his back. It should not have any loose straps 
on the back part of it to flap about and scare him. After you 
have saddled him in this way, take a switch in your right hand to 
tap him up with, and walk about in the stable a few times, with 
your right arm over the saddle, taking hold of the reins on each 
side of his neck, with your right and left hands. Thus marching 
him about in the stable until you learn him the use of the bridle, 
and can turn him about in any direction, and stop him by a gentle 
pull of the rein. Always caress and loose the reins a little every 
time you. stop him. 

You should always be alone, and have your colt in some tight 
stable or shed, the first time you ride him ; the loft should be high, 
so that you can sit on his back without endangering your head. 
You can learn him more in two hours time in a stable of this kind, 
than you could in two weeks in the common way of breaking 
colts, out in an open place. If you follow my coiirse of treatment, 
you need not run any risk, or have any trouble in riding the worst 
kind of a horse. You take him a step at a time, until you get up 
a mutual confidence and trust between yourself and horse. First 
learn him to lead and stand hitched, next acquaint him with the 
saddle, and the use of the bit ; and then all that remains, is to get 
on him without scaring him, and you can ride him as well as any 
horse. 



HOW TO MOUNT THE COLT. 

First gentle him well on both sides, about the saddle, and all 
ovei-, until he will stand without holding, and is not afraid to see 
you anywhere about him. 

As soon as you have him thus gentled, get a small block, about 
one foot or eighteen inches in height, and set it down by the side 



20 

of bim, about where you Avant to stand to mount bira ; step up on 
tbis, raising yourself very gently ; borses notice every cbange of 
position very closely, and if you Avere to step up suddenly on tbe 
block, it would be very apt to scare bim ; but by raising yourself 
gradually on it, be will see you, witbout being frigbtened, in a po- 
sition very near tbe same as wbeu you are on bis back. 

As soon as be will bear tbis witbout alarm, untie tbe stirrup 
strap next to you, and put your left foot into tbe stirrup, and 
stand square over it, holding your knee against tbe horse, and 
your toe out, so as to touch bim under tbe shoulder Avith tbe toe 
of your boot. Place your right band on the front of tbe saddle, 
and on the opposite side of you. Taking bold of a portion of tbe 
mane and the reins as they hang loosely over his neck Avith your 
left band ; then gradually bear your weight on tbe stirrup, and on 
your right band, until the horse feels your Avbole Aveight on tbe 
saddle ; repeat tbis several times, each time raising yourself a 
little higher from tbe block, until he will allow you to raise your 
leg oA^er his croop, and place yourself in tbe saddle. 

There are three great advantages in baA'ing a block to mount 
from. First, a sudden change of position is very apt to frighten 
a young horse, that has never been bandied ; be Avill alloAv you 
to Avalk up to bim, and stand by bis side Avitbout scaring at you, 
because you have gentled him to that position, but if you get 
down on your hands and knees and crawl towards bim, he Avill be 
very much frigbtened, and upon tbe same principle be would 
frighten at your new position if you had tbe power to hold your- 
self over his back Avitbout touching him. Then the first great ad- 
A'antage of tbe block is to gradually gentle him to that new po- 
sition in Avhicb he aauII see you when you ride bim. 

Secondly, by tbe process of leaning your Aveight in tbe stirrups, 
and on your hand, you can gradually accustom bim to your Aveight, 
so as not to frighten bim by having him to feel it all at once. And 
in the third place the block elevates you so that you aa'HI not have 
to make a spring in order to get on tbe horse's back, but from it 
you can gradually raise yourself into the saddle. When you take 
these precautions, there is no horse so Avild but Avbat you can 
mount him Avithout making him jump. I have tried it on the 
Avorst horses that could be found, and have never failed in any 
case. When mounting, your horse should ahvays stand Avitbout 
being held. A horse is never Avell broke when be has to be held 
Avith a tight rein Avbile mounting ; and a colt is never so safe to 
mount, as when you see that assurance of confidence, and absence 
of fear, which causes him to stand AA'itbout boldine;. 



HOW TO RIDE THE COLT. 

When you want him to start, do not toucli him on the side Avith 
your heel, or do anything to frighten him to make him jump. 
But speak to bim kindly, and if he does not start, pull him a little 
to the left until he starts, and then let bim Avalk off sloAvly Avith 



21 

the reins loose. Walk him around in the stable a few times until 
he gets used to the hit, and you can turn him about in every 
direction and stop him as you please. It would be well to get 
on and off a good many times until he gets perfectly used to it 
before you take him out of the stable. 

After you have trained him in this way,which shou.ld not take you 
more than one or two hours, you can ride him anywhere you choose 
without ever having him jump or make any effort to throw you. 

When you first take him out of the stable be very gentle with 
him, as he will feel a little more at liberty to jump or run, and be 
a little easier frightened than he was while in the stable. But after 
handling him so much in the stable he will be pretty v^ell broke, 
and you will be able to manage him without trouble or danger. 

When you first mount him take a little the shortest hold on the 
left rein, so that if anything frightens him you can prevent him 
jumping by pulling his head around to you. This operation of 
pulling a horse's head around against his side will prevent any 
horse from jumping ahead, rearing up, or running away. If he is 
stubborn and will not go, you can make him move by pulling his 
head around to one side, when whipping would have no effect. 
xVnd turning him around a few times will make him dizzy, and 
then by letting him have his head straight, giving him a little 
touch with the whip he will go along without any trouble. 

Never use martingales on a colt when you first ride him ; every 
movement of the hand should go right to the bit in the direction 
in which it is applied to the reins, without a martingale to change 
the direction of the force applied. You can guide the colt much 
better without them, and learn him the use of the bit in much 
less time. Besides, martingales would prevent you from pulling 
his head around if he should try to jump. 

After your colt has been rode until he is gentle and well accus- 
tomed to the bit, you may find it an advantage, if he carries his 
head too high, or his nose too far out, to put martingales on him. 

You should be careful not to ride your colt so far at first as to 
heat, worry or tire him. Get off as soon as you see he is a little 
fatigued ; gentle him and let him rest, this will make him kind to 
you and prevent him from getting stubborn and mad. 



THE PROPER WAY TO BIT A COLT. 

Farmers often put bitting harness on a colt the first thing they 
do, buckling up the bitting as tight as they can draw it to make 
him carry his head high, and then turn him out in a lot to run a 
half day at a time. This is one of the worst punishments that they 
could inflict on the colt, and very injurious to a young horse that 
has been used to running in pasture with his head down. I have 
seen colts so injured in this way that they never got over it. 

A horse should be well accustomed to the bit before you put on 
the bitting harness, and when you first bit. him you should only 
rein his head up to that point where he naturally holds it, let that 



^2 

be high or low ; he will soon learn that he cannot lower his head, 
and that raising it a little will loosen the bit in his mouth. This 
will give him the idea of raising his head to loosen the bit, and 
then you can draw the bitting a little tighter every time you put 
it on, and he will still raise his head to loosen it ; by this means you 
will gradually get his head and neck in the position you want him 
to carry it, and give him a nice and graceful carriage without 
hurting him, making him mad, or causing his mouth to get sore. 
If you put the bitting on very tight the first time, he cannot 
raise his head enough to loosen it, but will bear on it all the time, 
and paw, sweat, and throw himself. Many horses have been 
killed by falling backward with the bitting on, their heads being 
drawn up, strike the ground with the whole weight of the body. 
Horses that have their heads drawn up tightly should not have 
the bitting on more than fifteen or twenty minutes at a time. 



HOW TO DRIVE A HORSE THAT IS VERY WILD' 
AND HAS ANY OTHER VICIOUS HABITS. 

Take up one fore foot and bend his knee till his hoof is bottom 
upward, and merely touching his body, then slip a loop over his 
knee, and up until it comes above the pasture joint to keep it up, 
being careful to draw the loop together between the hoof and 
pasture joint with a second strap of some kind, to prevent the loop 
from slipping down and coming off. This will leave the horse 
standing on three legs ; you can now handle him as you wish, for 
it is utterly impossible for him to kick in this position. There 
is something in this operation of taking up one foot that conquers 
a horse quicker and better than any thing else you can do to him. 
There is no process in the world equal to it to break a kicking 
horse, for several reasons. First, there is a principle of this kind 
in the nature of the horse ; that by conquering one member, you 
conquer, to a great extent, the whole horse. 

You have perhaps seen men operate on this principle by sewing 
a horse's ears together to prevent him from kicking. I once saw 
a plan given in a newspaper to make a bad horse stand to be shod, 
which was to fasten down one ear. There were no reasons given 
why you should do so ; but I tried it several times, and thought 
it had a good effect — though I would not recommend its use, 
especially stitching his ears together. The only benefit arising 
from this process is, that by disarranging his ears we draw his 
attention to them, and he is not so apt to resist the shoeing. By 
tying up one foot we operate on the same principle to a much 
better effect. When you first fasten up a horse's foot he will some- 
times get very mad, and strike with his knee, and try every possible 
way to get it down but he cannot do that, and will give it up. 

This will conquer him better than anything you could do, and 
without any possible danger of hurting himself or you either, for 
j'-ou can tie up his foot and sit down and look at him until he gives 
up. When you find that he is conquered, go to him, let down his 



23 

foot, rub his leg with your hand, caress and let him rest a little, 
then put it up again. Repeat this a few times, always putting up 
the same foot, and he will soon learn to travel on three legs so that 
you can drive him some distance. As soon as he gets a little used 
to this way of traveling, put on your harness and hitch him to a 
sulky. If he is the worst kicking horse that ever raised a foot, 
you need not be fearful of his doing any damage Avhile he Jias one 
foot up, for he cannot kick, neither can he run fast enough to do 
any harm. And if he is the wildest horse that ever had harness 
on, and has run away every time he has been hitched, you can 
now hitch him in a sulky and drive him as you please. And if he 
wants to run you can let him have the lines, and the whip too, 
with perfect safety, for he cannot go but a slow gait on three legs, 
and will soon be tired and willing to stop ; only hold him enough 
to guide him in the right direction, and he will soon be tired and 
willing to stop at the word. Thus you will effectually cure him 
at once of any further notion of running off. Kicking horses have 
always been the dread of every body ; you always hear men say, 
when they speak about a bad horse, " I don't care what he does, 
so he don't kick." This new method is an effectual cure for this 
worst of all habits. There are plenty of ways by which you can 
hitch a kicking horse and force him to go, though he kicks all the 
time ; but this don't have any good effect towards breaking him, 
for we know that horses kick because they are afraid of what is 
behind them, and when they kick against it and it hurts them, 
they will only kick the harder, and this will hurt them still more, 
and make them remember the scrape much longer, and make it 
still more difficult to persvxade them to have any confidence in 
anything dragging behind them ever after. 

But by this new method you can hitch them to a rattling sulky, 
plow, wagon, or anything else in its worst shape. They may be 
frightened at first, but cannot kick or do anything to hurt them- 
selves, and will soon find that you do not intend to hurt them, 
and then they will not care anything more about it. You can then 
let down the leg and drive along gently without any further 
trouble. By this new process a bad kicking horse can be learned 
to go getitle in harness in a few hours' time. 



ON BALKING. 

Horses knoAv nothing about balking, only as they are brought 
into it by improper management, and when a horse balks in har- 
ness, it is generally from some mismanagement, excitement, con- 
fusion, or from not knowing how to pull, but seldom from any un- 
willingness to perform all that he understands. High-spirited, 
free going horses are the most subject to balking, and only so be- 
cause drivers do not properly understand how to manage this kind. 
A free horse in a team may be so anxious to go, that when he 
hears the word he will start with a jump, which will not move the 
load, but give him such a severe jerk on the shoulders that he will 



24 

fly back and stop the other horse ; the teamster will continue his 
driving Avithout any cessation, and by the time he has the slow 
horse started again, he Avill find that the free horse has made 
another jump, and again flew back, and now he has them both 
badly balked, and so confused that neither of them knows what 
is the matter, or how to start the load. Next will come the slash- 
ing and cracking of the whip, and hallooing of the driver, till 
something is broken, or he is through with his course of treatment. 
But Avhat a mistake the driver commits by Avhipping his horse for 
this act. Reason and common sense shoiild teach him that the 
horse was willing and anxious to go, but did not know how to start 
the load. And should he whip him for that ? If so, he should 
whip him again for not knowing how to talk. A man that wants 
to act with any rationality or reason, should not fly into a passion, 
but should always think before he strikes. It takes a steady 
pressure against the collar to move a load, and you cannot expect 
him to act with a steady determined purpose while you are whip- 
ping him. There is hardly one balking horse in five hundred 
that will pull true from whipping ; it is only adding fuel to fire, 
and will make them more liable to balk another time. You always 
see horses that have been balked a few times, turn their heads 
and look back, as soon as they are a little frustrated. This is 
because they have been Avhipped and are afraid of what is behind 
them. This is an invariable rule with balked horses, just as much 
as it is for them to look around at their sides when they have the 
bots ; in either case they are deserving of the same sympathy and 
the same kind, rational treatment. 

When your horse balks, or is a little excited, if he Avants to 
start quickly, or looks around and don't vrant to go, there is some- 
thing Avrong, and he needs kind treatment immediately. Caress 
him kindly, and if he don't understand at once what you want 
him to do, ho Avill not be so much excited as to jump and break 
things, and do everything wrong through fear. As long as you 
are calm, and can keep down the excitement of the horse, there 
are ten chances to have him understand you, Avhere there would 
not be one under harsh treatment, and then the little jlare up 
would not carry with it any unfavorable recollections, and he 
would soon forget all about it, and learn to pull true. Almost 
every wrong act the horse commits is from mismanagement, fear 
or excitement ; one harsh Avord Avill so excite a nervous horse as 
to increase his pulse ten beats in a minute. 

When Ave remember that Ave are dealing Avith dumb brutes, and 
reflect how difiicultitmust be for them to understand our motions, 
signs and language, avc should never get oiat of patience with them 
because they don't understand us, or wonder at their doing things 
Avrong. With all our intellect, if avc Avere placed in the horse's 
situation, it Avould be diflicult for us to stand the driving of some 
foreigner, or foreign Avays and foreign language. We should 
always recollect that our Avays and language are just as foreign 
and unknoAvn to the horse, as any language in the world is to us, 
and should try to practice what Ave could understand, Avere we the 



25 

horse, endeavoring by some means to work on his understanding 
rather than on the different parts of his body. All balked horses 
can be started true and steady in a few minutes' time ; they are 
all willing to pull as soon as they know how, and I never yet 
found a balked horse that I could not teach him to start his load 
in fifteen, and often less than three minutes' time. 

Almost any ^eam, when first balked, will start kindly, if you let 
them stand five or ten minutes, as though there was notliing Avrong, 
and then speak to them with a steady voice, and turn them a little 
to the right or left, so as to get them both in motion before they 
feel the pinch of the load. But if you want to start a team that 
you are not driving yourself, that has been balked, fooled, and 
whipped for some time, go to them and hang the lines on their 
hames, or fasten them to the wagon, so that they will be perfectly 
loose ; make the driver and spectators (if there are any) stand 
off some distance to one side, so as not to attract the attention of 
the horses ; unloose their checkreins, so that they can get their 
heads down, if they choose ; let them stand a few minutes in this 
condition, until you can see that they are a little composed. 
While they are standing, you should be about their heads, gentling 
them ; it will make them a little more kind, and the spectators 
will think that you are doing something that they do not under- 
stand, and Avill not learn the secret. When you have them ready 
to start, stand before them, and as you seldom have but one balky 
horse in a team, get as near in front of him as you. can, and if lie 
is too fast for the other horse, let his nose come against his breast ; 
this will keep him steady, for he will go slow rather than run on 
you ; turn them gently to the right, without letting them pull on 
the traces, as far as the tongue will let them go ; stop them with 
a kind word, gentle them a little, and then turn them back to the 
left, by the same process. You will have them under your con- 
trol by this time, and as you turn them again to the right, steady 
them in the collar, and you can take them where you please. 

There is a quicker process that will generally start a balky 
horse, but not so sure. Stand him a little ahead, so that his shoul- 
ders will be against the collar, and then take up one of his fore 
feet in your hand, and let the driver start them, and when the 
weight comes against his shoulders, he will try to step ; then let 
him have his foot, and he will go right along. If you want to break 
a horse from balking that has long been in that habit, you ought 
to set apart a half day for that purpose. Put him by the side of 
some steady horse ; have check lines on them ; tie up all the tra- 
ces and straps, so that there will be nothing to excite them ; do 
not rein them up, but let them have their heads loose. Walk 
them about together for some time as slowly and lazily as pos- 
sible ; stop often, and go up to your balky horse and gentle him. 
Do not take any whip about him, or do anything to excite him, 
but keep him just as quiet as you can. He will soon learn to start 
off at the word, and stop whenever you tell him. 

As soon as he performs right, hitch him in an empty wagon ; 
have it stand in a favorable position for starting. It would be 



26 

well to shorten the stay chain behind the steady horse, so that if 
it is necessary, he can take the weight of the wagon the first time 
you start them. Do not drive but a few rods at first ; watch your 
balky horse closely, and if you see that he is getting excited, stop 
him before he stops of his own accord, caress him a little, and 
start again. As soon as they go well, drive them over a small 
hill a few times, and then over a large one, occasionally adding a 
little load. This process Avill make any horse true to pull. 



TO BREAK A HORSE TO HARNESS. 

Take him in a tight stable, as you did to ride him ; take the 
harness and go through the same process that you did with the 
saddle, until you get him ftimiliar Avith them, so that you can put 
them on him and rattle them about without his caring for them . 
As soon as he will bear this, put on the lines, caress him as you 
draw them over him, and drive him about in the stable till he will 
bear them over his hips. The lines are a great aggravation to 
some colts, and often frighten them as much as if you were to 
raise a whip over them. As soon as he is familiar with the har- 
ness and line, take him out and put him by the side of a gentle 
horse, and go through the same process that you did with the 
balking horse. Always use a bridle without blinds when you are 
breaking a horse to harness. 



HOW TO HITCH A HORSE IN A SULKY. 

Lead him to and around it ; let him look at it, touch it with his 
nose, and stand by it till he does not care for it ; then pull the 
shafts a little to the left, and stand by your horse in front of the 
off wheel. Let some one stand on the right side of the horse and 
hold him by the bit while you stand on the left side, facing the 
sulky. This will keep him straight. Run your left hand back 
and let it rest on his h.\]), and lay hold of the shafts with your 
right, bringing them up very gently to the left hand, which still 
remains stationary. Do not let anything but your arm touch his 
back, and as soon as you have the shafts square over him, let the 
person on the opposite side take hold of one of them and lower 
them very gently on the shaft bearers. Be very slow and delib- 
erate about hitching ; the longer time you take the better, as a 
general thing. When you have the shafts placed, shake them 
slightly, so that he will feel them against each side. As soon as 
ho will bear them without scaring, fasten your braces, etc., and 
start him along very slovdy. Let one man lead the horse to keep 
him gentle, wliile the other gradually works back with the lines 
till he can get behind and drive him. After you have driven hira 
in this way a short distance, you can get into the sulky, and all 
will go right. It is very important to have j'our horse go gentle 
when you first hitch him. After you have walked him awhile, 
there is not half so much danger of his scaring. Men do very 



wrong to jump up beliincl a horse to drive him as soon as they 
have him hitched. There are too many things for him to compre- 
hend all at once. The shafts, the lines, the harness, and the rattling 
of the sulky, all tend to scare him, and he must be made familiar 
with them by degrees. If your horse is very wild, I would advise 
you to put up one foot the first time you drive him. 



HOW TO MAKE A HORSE LIE DOWN. 

Everything that we want to learn the horse must be com- 
menced in some way to give him an idea of what you want him to 
do, and then be repeated until he learns it perfectly. To make a 
horse lie down, bend his fore left leg,, and slip a loop over it so that 
he cannot get it down. Then put a circingle around his body, and 
fasten one end of a long strap around the other fore leg, just above 
the hoof. Place the other end under the circingle, so as to keep 
the strap in the right hand ; stand on the left side of the horse, 
grasp the bit in your left hand, pull steadily on the strap with 
your right ; bear against his shoulder till you cause him to move. 
As soon as he lifts his weight, your pulling will raise his other 
foot, and he will have to come on his knees. Keep the strap 
tight in your hand, so that he cannot straighten his leg if he 
raises up. Hold him in this position and turn his head toward 
you ; bear against his side with your shoulder, not hard, but with 
a steady, equal pressure, and in about ten minutes he will lie down. 
As soon as he lies down he will be completely conquered, and you 
can handle him as you please. Take off the straps and straighten 
out his legs ; rub him lightly about the face and neck with your 
hand the way the hair lays ; handle all his legs, and after he has 
lain ten or twenty minutes, let him get up again. After resting 
him a short time, make him lie down as before. Repeat the 
operation three or four times, which will be sufficient for one 
lesson. Give him two lessons a day, and when you have given 
him four lessons he will lie down by taking hold of one foot. As 
soon as he is well broken to lie down in this way, tap him on the 
opposite leg with a stick when you have hold of his foot, and in a 
few days he will lie down from the mere motion of the stick. 



HOW TO MAKE A HORSE FOLLOW YOU. 

Turn him into a large stable or shed, where there is no chance 
to get out, with a halter or bridle on. Go to him and gentle him 
a little, take hold of his halter and turn him toward you, at the 
same time touching him lightly over the hips with a long whip. 
Lead him the length of the stable, rubbing him on the neck, 
saying in a steady tone of voice as you lead him. Come along, 
boy ! or use his name, instead of boy, if you choose. Every time 
you turn touch him slightly with the whip, to make him step up 
close to you, and then caress him with your hand. He will soon 



28 

learu to lumy up to escape the whip and be caressed, and you can 
make him follow you around without taking hold of the halter. 
If he should stop and turn from you, give him a few cuts about 
the hind legs, and he will soon turn his head toward you, when 
you must always caress him. A few lessons of this kind will make 
him run after you when he sees the motion of the whip — in twenty 
or thirty minutes he will follow you about the stable. After you 
have given him two or three lessons in the stable, take him out 
into a small lot and train him ; and from thence you can take him 
into the road and make him follow you anywhere and run after 
you. 



HOW TO MAKE A HORSE STAND WITHOUT HOLDING- 

After you have him well broken to follow you, stand him in the 
center of the stable — begin at his head to caress him, gradually 
working backward. If he moves, give him a cut with the whip 
and put him back in the same spot from which he started. If he 
stands, caress hira as before, and continue gentling him in this 
wa}^ until you can get around him without making him move. 
Keep walking around him, increasing your pace, and only touch 
him occasionally. Enlarge your circle as you walk around, and 
if he then moves, give him another cut with the whip and put him 
back to his place. If he stands, go to him frequently and caress 
him, and then walk around him again. Do not keep in one posi- 
tion too long at a time, but make him come to you occasionally 
and follow you round in the stable. Then stand him in another 
place and proceed as before. You should not train your horse 
more than half an hour at a time. 



THE HORSEMAN'S GUIDE AND FARRIER. 

BY JOHN J. STUTZMAN, West RushvUlo, Fairfield Co., Ohio. 



I will here insert some of the most efficient cures of diseases to which the 
horse is subject. I have practiced them for many years with unparalleled suc- 
cess. I have cured horses with the following remedies, which (in many cases) 
have been given up in despair, and I never had a case in which I did not effect 
a cure. 

Cure for Colic. — Take one gill of turpeiatine, one gill of opium dissolved in 
whisky ; one quart of water, milk warm. Drench the horse and move him 
about slowly. If there is no relief in fifteen minutes, take a piece of chalk, 
about the size of an egg, powder it, and put it into a pint of cider vinegar, which 
should be blood vvarm, give that and then move him as before. 

Another. — Take one ounce laudanum, one ounce of ether, one ounce of tinc- 
ture of assafcEtida, two ounces tincture of peppermint, half pint of whisky ; put 
it all in a quart bottle, shake it well and drench the horse. 

Cure for the Bolts. — Take one and a half pints of fresh milk (just from the 
cow) one pint of molasses. Drench the horse and bleed him in the mouth ; 
then give him one pint of linseed oil to remove them. 

For Distemper. — Take mustard seed ground fine, tar and rye chop, make 
pills about the size of a hen's egg. Give him six pills every six hours, until 
they physic him ; then give him one tablespoonful of the horse powder men- 
tioned before, once a day until cured. Keep him from cold water for six hours 
after iising the powder. 

Lung Fever. — In the first place bleed the horse severely. Give him spirits 
of nitre, in water which should not be too cold, for it would chill him. Keep 
him well covered with blankets, and rub his legs and body well ; blister him 
around the chest with mustard seed, nnd be sure to give him no cold water, 
unless there is spirits of nitre in it. 

Rheumatic Liniment. — Take croton oil, aqua ammonia, f . f. f.; oil of cajuput, 
oil of origanum, in equal parts. Rub well. It is good for spinal diseases and 
Aveak back. 

Cuts and Womids of all kinds. — One pint of alcohol, half ounce of gum of 
myrrh, half ounce aloes ; wash once a day. 

Sprains and Swellings. — Take one and a half ounces of hartshorn, one ounce 
camphor, two ounces spirits of turpentine, four ounces sweet oil, eight ounces 
alcohol. Anoint twice a day. 

For Glanders. — Take of burnt buck's horn a tablespoonful, every three days 
for nine days. If there is no relief in that time, continue the powder until there 
is relief. 

Saddle or Collar Liniment. — One ounce of spirits of turpentine, half ounce 
of oil of spike, half ounce essence of wormwood, haU" ounce castile soap, half 
ounce glim camphor, half ounce sulphuric ether, half pint alcohol, and wash 
freely. 

Liniment to set the Slifte Joint on a Horse. — One oimce oil of spike, half 
ounce origanum, half ounce oil amber. Shake it well and rub the joints twice 
a day until cured, which will be in two or three days. 



30 

£ye Water. — I have tried the following and found it an efficient remedy. I 
have tried it on my own eyes and those of others. Take bolus muna one ounce, 
white vitriol one ounce, alum half ounce, with one pint clear rain water ; shake 
it well before using. If too strong, weaken it with rainwater. 

Liniment for Windgalls, Strains and Growth of Lumps on Man or Horse. — 
One ounce oil of spike, half ounce origanum, half ounce amber, aqua fortis and 
sal ammoniac one drachm, spirits of salts one drachm, oil of sassafras half 
ounce, hartshorn half ounce. Bathe once or twice a day. 

Horse Powder. — This powder will cure more diseases than any other medi- 
cine known ; such as Distemper, Fersey, Hidebound, Colds, and all lingering 
diseases which may arise from impurity of the blood or lungs. Take one pound 
comfrey root, half pound antimony, half pound sulphur, three ounces of saltpe- 
tre, half pound laurel berries, half pound juniper berries, half pound angetice 
seed, half pound rosin, three ounces alum, half pound copperas, half pound 
master wort, half pound gun powder. Mix all to a powder and give in the most 
cases, one tablespoonful in mash feed once a day until cured. Keep the horse 
dry, and keep him from cold water six hours after using it. 

For Cuts or Wounds on Horse or Man. — Take lish-worms mashed up with 
old bacon oil, and tie on the wound, which is the surest and safest cure. 

Oil for Collars. — This oil will also cure bruises, sores, swellings, strains or 
galls. Take fish-worms and put them in a crock or other vessel twenty-four 
hours, till they become clean ; then put them in a bottle and throw plenty of 
salt upon them, place them near a stove and they will turn to oil ; rub the parts 
affected freely. I have cured knee-sprung horses with this oil frequently. 

Sore and Scummed Eyes on Horses. — Take fresh butter, or rabbit's fat, 
honey and the white of three eggs, well stirred up with salt and black pepper, 
ground to a fine powder ; mix it well and apply to the eye with a feather. Also 
rub above the eye (in the hollow) with the salve. Wash freely with cold spring 
water. 

For a Bruised Eye. — Take rabbit's fat, and use as above directed. Bathe 
freely with fresh spring water. I have cured many bloodshot eyes with this 
simple remedy. 

Poll-Evil or Fistula. — Take of Spanish flies one ounce, gum euphorbium 
three drachms, tartar emetic one ounce, rosin three ounces ; mix and pulverize, 
and then mix them with a half pound of lard. Anoint every three days for 
three weeks ; grease the parts affected with lard every four days. Wash with 
soap and water before using the salve. In poll-evil, if open, pulverize black 
bottle glass, put as much in each ear as will lay on a dime. The above is 
recommended in outside callouses, such as spavin, ringbone, curbs, windgalls, 
etc., etc. 

For the Fersey. — Take one quart of sassafras root bark, one quart burdock 
root, spice wood broke fine, one pint rattle weed root. Boil in one and a half 
gallons of water; scald bran; wlien cool give it to the horse once a day for 
three or four days. Then bleed him in the neck and give him the horse powder 
as directed. In extreme cases, I also rowel in the breast and hind legs, to 
extract the corruption and remove the swelling. This is also an efficient remedy 
for blood diseases, etc., etc. 

To make the Hair Grow on Man or Beast. — Take milk of sulphur half drachm, 
sugar of lead half drachm, rose water half gill, mix and bathe well twice a day 
for ten day.s. 

Cholera or Diarrhaia Tincture. — One ounce of laudanum, one ounce of spirits 
of camphor, one ounce of spirits of nitre, half ounce essence of peppermint, 
twenty drops of chloroform ; put all in a bottle, shake well, and take half tea- 
spoonful in cold water once every six, twelve and twenty-four hours, according 
to the nature of the case. 

Cure for the Heaves. — Give thirty grains of tartar ttmetic every week until 
cured. 



OF 

SUBDUING WILD HORSES 

AND OTHER WILD ANIMALS. 



This wonderful art, founded upon a system of philosophy, is infallible and 
universal in its application, and extends to all the animal kingdom. In regard 
to the horse, it consists in convincing him that you are his superior, and you 
have absolute power over him. The system is somewhat akin to animal mag- 
netism in its effect, but the process is widely different. 

The Process of Taming a very Wild Horse, which was never 
handled. — This consists, first by charming him by a powder, which is obtained 
by taking the button from the horse's knee ; by which I mean the homy sub- 
stance growing on the inside, or rather on the back part of a horse's legs, below 
the knee, behind and above it before. Dry this substance and pulverize it ; put 
a small quantity into a quill and blow it into his nostrils ; in a few minutes it 
will operate, and cause him to follow you, or permit you to handle his feet, or 
get upon his back. Thus, with perfect ease, may a wild and vicious animal 
become gentle and harmless. 

Process of Causing a Horse to lay down. — Approach him gently upon 
the left side, fasten a strap around the ankle of his fore foot ; then raise the foot 
gently, so as to bring the knee against the breast and the foot against the belly. 
The leg being in this position, fasten the strap around his arm, which will effec- 
tually prevent him from putting that foot to the ground again. Then fasten a 
strap around the opposite leg, and bring it over his shoulder, on the left side, so 
that you can catch hold of it ; then push these gently, and when he goes to fall, 
pull the strap which will bring him on his knees. 

Now commence patting him under the belly ; by continuing your gentle 
strokes upon the belly, you will, in a few minutes, bring him to his knees be- 
hind. Continue the process, and he will lie entirely down, and submit himself 
wholly to your treatment. By thus proceeding gently, you may handle his feet 
and legs in any way you choose. 

However wild and fractious a horse may be naturally, after practising this 
process a few times, you will find him perfectly gentle and submissive, and even 
disposed to follow you anywhere, and unwilling to leave you on any occasion. 

Unless the horse be wild, the first treatment will be all sufficient ; but should 
he be too fractiou.s to be approached in a manner necessary to perform the first 
named operation, you must contrive to get the powder into his nostrils, this you 
will find effectual, and you may then train your horse to harness or anything 
else with the utmost ease. 

In breaking horses for harness, after giving the powders, put the harness on 
gently, without starting him, and pat him gently, then fasten the chain to a log, 
which he will draw for an indefinite length of time. When you find him suffi- 
ciently gentle, place him to a wagon or other vehicle. 

Note. — Be extremely careful in catching a horse, not to affright him. After 
he is caught and the powders given, rub him gently on the head, neck, back and 
legs, and on each side of the eyes, the way the hair lies, but be very careful not 
to whip, for a young horse is equally passionate with yourself, and this perni- 



32 

cious practice has ruined many fine and valuable horses. When you are riding 
a colt, (or even an old horse,) do not whip him if he scares, but draw the bridle, 
so that his eyes may rest upon the object which has aflFrighted him, and pat him 
upon the neck as you approach it ; by this means you will pacify him, and ren- 
der him less liable to start in future. 

Means of Learning a Horse to Pace. — Buckle a four pound weight 
around the ankles of his hind legs, (lead is preferable,) ride your horse briskly 
with those weights upon his ankles, at the same time twitching each rein alter- 
nately, by this means you will immediately thro^\- him into a pace. After you 
have trained him in this way to some extent, change your leaded weights for 
something lighter ; leather padding or something equal to it will answer the 
purpose ; let him wear these light weights until he is perfectly trained. This 
process will make a smooth and easy pacer of any horse. 

Horsemanship. — The rider should, in the first place, let the horse know 
that he is not afraid of him. Before mounting a horse, take the rein into the 
left hand, draw it tightly, put the left foot into the stirrup, and raise quickly. 
When you are seated, press your knees to the saddle, let your leg, from the knee 
stand out ; turn your toe in and heel out ; sit upright in your saddle, throv/ 
your weight forward — one-third of it in the stirrups — and hold your rein tight. 
Should your horse scare, you are braced in your saddle and he cannot throw you . 

Indication of a Horse's Disposition. — A long thin neck indicates a good 
disposition, contrariwise if it be short and thick. A broad forehead, high be- 
tween the ears, indicates a very vicious disposition. 

CureSj &c. — Cure for the Founder. — Let one and a half gallons of blood 
from the neck vein, make frequent applications of hot water to his fore legs ; 
after which, bathe them in wet cloths, then give one quart of linseed oil. The 
horse will be ready for service the next day. 

BoTS. — Mix one pint honey with one pint sweet milk, give as a drench, one 
hour after, dissolve one ounce pulverized copperas in a pint of water, use like- 
wise, then give one quart of linseed oil. Cure effectual. 

Colic. — After bleeding copiously in the mouth, take a half pound of raw cot- 
ton, wrap it around a coal of fire in such a way as to exclude the air ; when it 
begins to smoke, hold it under the liorse's nose until he becomes easy. Cure 
certain in ten minutes. 

Distemper. — Take one and a half gallons of blood from the neck vein ; then 
give a dose of sassafras oil ; one and a half ounces is sufficient. Cure speedy 
and certain. 

Fistula. — When it makes its appearance, rowel both sides of the shoulder : 
if it should break, take one ounce virdigris, one ounce oil rosin, one oimce cop- 
peras, pulverize and mix together. Use it as a salvo. 

Receipt for Bone Spavin or Ring-Bone. — Take a tablespoonful of cor- 
rosive sublimate ; quicksilver about the size of a bean ; three or four drops of 
muriatic acid ; iodine about the size of a pea, and lard enough to form a paste ; 
grind the iodine and .sublimate as fine as flour, and put altogether in a cup, mix 
well, then shear the hair all off the size you want ; wash clean with soapsuds, 
rub dry, then apply the medicine. — Let it stay on five days ; if it does not take 
effect, take it off, mix it over with a little more lard, and add some fresh medi- 
cine. When the lump oomes out, wash it clean in soapsuds, then apply a poul- 
tice of cow-dung, leave it on twelve hours, then apply healing medicine. 



HoLBBOOK, Prirtter, No. 3 Mechanic-st., Newark, N.J. 




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